Barack Obama's Muslim Childhood
by Daniel Pipes
April 29, 2008
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/5544
As Barack Obama's candidacy comes under increasing scrutiny, his
account of his religious upbringing deserves careful attention for
what it tells us about the candidate's integrity.
Obama asserted in December, "I've always been a Christian," and he has
adamantly denied ever having been a Muslim. "The only connection I've
had to Islam is that my grandfather on my father's side came from that
country [Kenya]. But I've never practiced Islam." In February, he
claimed: "I have never been a Muslim. =85 other than my name and the
fact that I lived in a populous Muslim country for 4 years when I was
a child [Indonesia, 1967-71] I have very little connection to the
Islamic religion."
"Always" and "never" leave little room for equivocation. But many
biographical facts, culled mainly from the American press, suggest
that, when growing up, the Democratic candidate for president both saw
himself and was seen as a Muslim.
Obama's Kenyan birth father: In Islam, religion p***** from the father
to the child. Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (1936=961982) was a Muslim who
named his boy Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. Only Muslim children are named
"Hussein".
Obama's Indonesian family: His stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was also a
Muslim. In fact, as Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng explained to
Jodi Kantor of the New York Times: "My whole family was Muslim, and
most of the people I knew were Muslim." An Indonesian publication, the
Banjarmasin Post re****ts a former classmate, Rony Amir, recalling that
"All the relatives of Barry's father were very devout Muslims."
The Catholic school: Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press re****ts
that "do***ents showed he enrolled as a Muslim" while at a Catholic
school during first through third grades. Kim Barker of the Chicago
Tribune confirms that Obama was "listed as a Muslim on the
registration form for the Catholic school." A blogger who goes by "An
American Expat in Southeast Asia" found that "Barack Hussein Obama was
registered under the name =91Barry Soetoro' serial number 203 and
entered the Franciscan Asisi Primary School on 1 January 1968 and sat
in class 1B. =85 Barry's religion was listed as Islam."
The public school: Paul Watson of the Los Angeles Times learned from
Indonesians familiar with Obama when he lived in Jakarta that he "was
registered by his family as a Muslim at both schools he attended."
Haroon Siddiqui of the Toronto Star visited the Jakarta public school
Obama attended and found that "Three of his teachers have said he was
enrolled as a Muslim." Although Siddiqui cautions that "With the
school records missing, eaten by bugs, one has to rely on people's
****fting memories," he cites only one retired teacher, Tine Hahiyari,
retracting her earlier certainty about Obama's being registered as a
Muslim.
Koran class: In his autobiography, Dreams of My Father, Obama relates
how he got into trouble for making faces during Koranic studies,
thereby revealing he was a Muslim, for Indonesian students in his day
attended religious cl***** according to their faith. Indeed, Obama
still retains knowledge from that class: Nicholas D. Kristof of the
New York Times, re****ts that Obama "recalled the opening lines of the
Arabic call to prayer, reciting them [to Kristof] with a first-rate
accent."
Mosque attendance: Obama's half-sister recalled that the family
attended the mosque "for big communal events." Watson learned from
childhood friends that "Obama sometimes went to Friday prayers at the
local mosque." Barker found that "Obama occasionally followed his
stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers." One Indonesia friend,
Zulfin Adi, states that Obama "was Muslim. He went to the mosque. I
remember him wearing a sarong" (a garment associated with Muslims).
Piety: Obama himself says that while living in Indonesia, a Muslim
country, he "didn't practice [Islam]," implicitly acknowledging a
Muslim identity. Indonesians differ in their memories of him. One,
Rony Amir, describes Obama as "previously quite religious in Islam."
Obama's having been born and raised a Muslim and having left the faith
to become a Christian make him neither more nor less qualified to
become president of the United States. But if he was born and raised a
Muslim and is now hiding that fact, this points to a major deceit, a
fundamental misrepresentation about himself that has profound
implications about his character and his suitability as president.
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